CHARLESTON, S.C. - Tulane's basketball team fought hard against Miami (Fla.) in the opening game of the Charleston Classic on Thursday afternoon, but fell to the Hurricanes, 74-54, in Carolina First Arena on the campus of the College of Charleston.

Tulane (0-2) went back and forth with Miami (3-0) for much of the first half, including holding a 22-19 lead with 11:39 left in the half after a Johnny Mayhane jumper in the paint. The Hurricanes tied the game for the seventh time on their next possession with one of Adrian Thomas' three 3-pointers of the game.

Mayhane finished the game with four points and a team-high four rebounds.

The game would be tied two more times during the first half before the Hurricanes took a 31-26 lead into the locker room at the break.

"We played well in the first half and I thought our defense did a good job even though Miami's percentage was high," Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson said. "But, I thought we made some winning plays. Miami is a very good team and we played two really tough teams to start the year in Georgetown and then Miami."

The Green Wave opened the second half with Kris Richard's second of three 3-pointers to cut the lead to four, but Tulane would not get any closer than that the rest of the game.

Richard led Tulane with 13 points, while David Booker added 12 points off the bench. Kevin Sims, Tulane's leader scorer a season ago, was held to 0-8 shooting and failed to score a point.

Senior forward Dwayne Scott led Miami with 23 points and 14 rebounds on eight of eight shooting from the floor and seven of 12 from the line.

Adrian Thomas added 12 points and six rebounds for the Hurricanes and Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant each posted 10 points.

Tulane shot 46.7 percent from the floor in the first half, but managed to only connect on six of 20 shots in the final 20 minutes to shoot 40.0 percent in the game. The Green Wave did have only 11 turnovers, collected 10 steals and forced 14 Miami turnovers.

Miami shot 51.9 percent from the floor in the game, including 55.6 percent in the first half. The Hurricanes won the battle on the boards with 37 to Tulane's 25.

"In the second half we just could not put the ball in the basket enough to offset their athleticism," Dickerson added. "Now we have a short turnaround and we have to figure out how we can win the next game."

The Green Wave will still play two more games in the Charleston Classic and will face Penn State tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. CST and play another game on Sunday. Tomorrow's game will be broadcast live on CSS TV as well as the Tulane Sports Marketing Radio Network.

The mission of the Tulane University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is to support the university's purpose of enriching the capacity to think, learn, act, and lead with integrity and wisdom. This is ensured by providing our student-athletes and staff with opportunities for competitive success and personal growth within the context of sportsmanship, teamwork, and integrity.